batmanfandomcom-20200223-history
The Adventures of Batman
There are several releases of the video game The Adventures of Batman and Robin for some of the different consoles in the market. The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Gear, and Sega Mega CD versions were published by Sega while the Super NES one was published by Konami. All of these games are based on popular DC Comics characters Batman and Robin and specifically the hit animated series Batman: The Animated Series (which had been renamed The Adventures of Batman and Robin at the time of the game's production). Super NES version The SNES version is developed and published by Konami. The action takes Batman to an amusement park and other places where supercriminals do their nasty work. Nintendo Power criticized the game for not giving Robin a more active role (the game was actually under development before the series was retitled). Otherwise, he supplies Batman with his moral support. Despite this, the game was well received by fans citing the faithful rendition of not only the characters and settings but also the music of the actual animated series. Characters Most of the major villains from the animated series appear. The following major villains appear in the game as bosses (each with their own level): X = Appear only in the last level The Gauntlet Y = Appear as a level boss and in the last level *''The Joker'' Y *''The Penguin'' Y *''Catwoman'' Y *''The Riddler'' *''Two-Face'' *''Poison Ivy'' *''Scarecrow'' Y *''Clayface'' X *''Man-Bat'' X In addition to the above villains the only other major villain from the series to appear is Harley Quinn. However her two very brief appearances are cameos at best as she only has a couple of lines of dialogue. In addition to Robin several other supporting characters appear in the game: *''Alfred Pennyworth'' *''Summer Gleeson'' *''Commissioner Gordon'' *''Barbara Gordon'' It should be noted though that unlike Robin none of the other characters make significant appearances. Summer Gleeson appears on the Batcomputer when there is a news item (usually at the beginning of each level), Alfred appears accompanied with dialogue during the Batcave scenes at the beginning of each level and password and game over screens. Both Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon appear in a later level in cameos. Barbara Gordon is never shown as Batgirl in the game. Gameplay For the most part, is an action-adventure platformer in which the player only controls Batman, and follows him to the end of each stage, where a villain is set to appear. However, the style and design of the stages themselves are different between each other, which gives notable diversity to the game. Some of the more common features in the game is the possibility to equip with different gadgets, such as bombs, x-ray lenses and so on. Some of the gadgets are in some cases essential to complete some stage. There is also the possibility of returning to the Batcave in order to re-equip the gadgets and restart an entire stage with all the lives the players has accumulated to that point (in case the player had lost lives). The game features passwords, which leaves the player in the last played stage. The passwords also takes count of the numbers of lives remaining and the continues used. These cannot be obtained in the Hard difficulty, which means that the game must be completed from the beginning. Trivia Most of the levels in the game are actually based on a number of episodes in the animated series as follows: Level 1: Amused to Death *This level is actually based on two different episodes. Many elements of the funhouse part of the level are based on the Christmas with the Joker episode (the laughing Joker dolls and the giant toy soldier robots). The rollercoaster fight is heavily based on the episode Be a Clown. The name of the rollercoaster, Twin Terrors, can also be seen in the background. Level 2: No Green Peace *Like the first level this level is again based on two different episodes. The first part of the level (with Poison Ivy's goons chasing you in the forest) uses elements and characters from the Eternal Youth episode. The second part of the level. the fight against Ivy and her plant monster in the Greenhouse, uses elements and settings from the Pretty Poison episode. Level 3: Fowl Play *The only real standout part of this level is the final fight against the Penguin and his helicopter, which could be seen as being based on the Blind as a Bat episode. However, Penguin has been known to steal valuable artifacts from museums, much like in this level. Level 4: Tale of the Cat *Mainly based on the first few minutes of The Cat and the Claw part 1, specifically chasing Catwoman and her pet cat across rooftops. The title card is the same one used for Cat Scratch Fever, another Catwoman episode. Level 5: Trouble in Transit *This is the first level in the game where no parts of it seemed to be based on a particular episode (especially a Two-Face one), even though a remix of Two-Face's theme is used during the final chase sequence. However, the title card of the level is the same one used for the episode The Mechanic, and Two-Face's car looks similar to Penguin's getaway car. The only difference is Penguin was the main villain of that episode, not Two-Face. Level 6: Perchance to Scream *The first level in the game that is solely based on a particular episode, Nothing to Fear. The title card is the same as the one used for that episode, and the level is named after another episode, "Perchance to Dream". Level 7: Riddle Me This *The first part of this level, navigating through the Riddler's maze while answering his riddles and the fight against the robot Minotaur, is heavily based on the If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? episode (the title card is also the same). Whereas the second part, the fight against Riddler and his Chess board in Virtual Reality, is heavily based on the What Is Reality? episode. Level 8: The Gauntlet *Like level 5 no elements of this are based on a particular episode (except where you fight Man-Bat looks similar to the construction site seen in the first episode "On Leather Wings"). Of course, fighting a jetpac-armed Joker is from Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. This level is just there to fight most of the enemies again with the addition of Clayface and Man-Bat Mega Drive/Genesis version The Genesis version, published by Sega, is a run 'n' gun where both Batman and Robin must stop Mr. Freeze, who plans to freeze Gotham City. In order to keep the duo busy, he also frees The Joker, Mad Hatter and Two-Face, each one with their own agenda. The game can be played by two players simultaneouslty, one player with Batman and the other one with Robin. Both characters are identical in terms of playability, and both uses batarangs in long-range attacks, while they use melee attacks in short range. There are four levels, each one consisting of a straight left-to-right transverse to the end where the boss awaits. In some levels the game switches to a side-scrolling shooter, in which the players must control Batwings. The game is regarded as being extremely difficult to complete, and also known for pushing the Genesis to its limits in special effects. Bosses Level One: Happy Birthday to Me! *''Harley's Robot'' *''Harley Quinn'' *''Joker'' Level Two: A Two-Sided Story *''Two Face's airship'' *''Large airship'' *''Two Face'' Level Three: Tea Time! *''Giant Cat'' *''Giant Doll'' *''Mad Hatter'' Level Four: Snow in July? *''Mr. Freeze'' Trivia The game is much less faithful to the series than the SNES version. Attacking with such weapons as bolos and shurikens, no episode-to-level adaptations, and no music taken from the animated series. Sega Mega CD version The Sega CD version consists of Batmobile chase screens. Between levels, the story advances through animated scenes that were created specifically for the game. The animated segments were developed by TMS, which also did some of the episodes of the original cartoon. Kevin Conroy (Batman), Loren Lester (Robin), Robert Hastings (Commissioner James Gordon), Robert Costanzo (Harvey Bullock), Diane Pershing (Poison Ivy), John Glover (Riddler), Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn), Mark Hamill (The Joker), John Vernon (Rupert Thorne) and Ron Perlman (Clayface) all reprised their roles from the animated series. Lost episode The sixteen minute animated segments in the video game for the Sega CD are sometimes referred to as a "lost episode" of the series.Batman: The Lost "Episode" These segments are intended to be interspersed between gameplay elements of an early-1990s video game and as such, the sound, color and story are not of the same quality of the actual television program. In addition because they are interspersed between gameplay they do not form a complete story. Category:Video Games